Bolt, Lucid plan 25,000 robotaxis in Europe

Lucid Group and Bolt announced a strategic partnership on September 17, 2026 to develop and deploy autonomous mobility services across Europe. The agreement focuses on introducing fully autonomous vehicles into Bolt’s ride-hailing platform at scale across multiple European cities and countries. The companies describe the initiative as a key step in expanding autonomous transportation options in the region.

As part of the plan, Bolt aims to deploy at least 25,000 autonomous Lucid vehicles. These vehicles are intended to operate as part of Bolt’s platform and will be rolled out across different European markets rather than confined to a single country or city.

The 25,000-vehicle deployment is positioned within a wider goal for Bolt’s business. The company has set an ambition to operate 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform by 2035. The Lucid partnership is described as a foundational part of achieving this longer-term fleet target.

Bolt currently runs a large mobility platform, with operations in more than 50 countries and 850 cities. It serves more than 200 million customers and works with over 4.5 million drivers and couriers, giving it an existing network into which autonomous vehicles can be integrated.

The autonomous fleet is expected to be based on Lucid’s upcoming Midsize vehicle platform. This platform will be adapted from the product-development stage to support an autonomous-driving-system-ready configuration intended for SAE Level 4 operation. The companies plan to work together so that vehicle hardware and software are aligned for high levels of automation.

The vehicles are expected to utilize NVIDIA (NVDA) Hyperion, described as a production-ready autonomous vehicle reference architecture and development platform. NVIDIA (NVDA) Hyperion combines high-performance compute with a standardized sensor suite, forming a core technology layer for the planned autonomous capabilities.

Bolt Autonomous Driving Solutions, Bolt’s dedicated autonomous-driving unit, will lead the work on product development, integration and commercial operation for the program. Bolt also intends to own and operate the autonomous vehicle fleet, rather than relying on individual vehicle owners.

On Lucid’s side, the initiative will be led by Lucid Technologies, a newly established unit. Lucid Technologies is set to consolidate the company’s capabilities in AI, advanced driver-assistance systems, autonomy and digital functions to support the partnership and the development of the Level 4-ready platform.

The partners emphasized the need for tight integration between data, software, vehicles and operations to meet the specific demands of European roads and regulation. Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Bolt, highlighted that autonomous driving in Europe requires these elements to work as one system tailored to local conditions.

Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli described Bolt’s reach and operating expertise as making it an appropriate partner to scale autonomous mobility across Europe. Both companies frame the collaboration as a way to combine vehicle engineering, autonomous technology and large-scale platform operations into a single, coordinated program.